the dragon in the china shop
by airwik
Summary: Harry, after accidentally finding himself a new body, finds new friends and a new dimension or three. but being a dragon doesn't always help, especially if some idiots in other dimensions are convinced that you are a summons, an alien or some wild beast.
1. why the nightingale sings

_~~author'snotesoverse_

alright (imaginary) readers this is my first ever fanfic that i've felt was worth letting others read, so i'd be grateful for any advice, recomendations and such.

Harry won't be going off to téméraire land just yet, as he is he'd be eaten alive, so he'll be having a pit stop in the narutoverse, and anywhere else i can fit him and still make sense.

if you need a disclaimer, just look up at the blue bit that says fanfiction.

* * *

><p><em>~~potterverse<em>

It was winter, a while past midday, a dazzling sun shone down, surprisingly warm, as if to try to mitigate the wind's biting cold. There had been an unseasonably heavy snowfall; all the rooftops and gardens were the same uniform white. Not even the tips of the tallest strands of grass peaked out, although the snow had not yet reached the depth were it lost it's characteristically bumpy aspect.

The only person braving the temperature, well into the negatives, was a small boy, who looked to be around four. He wore two overly large jumpers, reaching past his knees, but they did little to spare him from the icy bite of the wind. He huddled beneath a bush, taking what little shelter it could provide.

The boy knew he was not normal, he'd had it all explained to him. He could better resist falls, injuries, extreme temperatures and lack of food. It was therefore normal that his normal, more fragile cousin receive more care, food and money. If he did or mentioned anything "freakish", he would be taken away and experimented on.

Nevertheless, this knowledge was not truly comforting. He was somehow responsible for the sofa's new colour. He had been allowed thirty seconds of magnanimity to grab the jumpers, before being banished to the backyard.

So he huddled crouched under a bush, worrying about chilblains, jumper drawn down to his knees, curling up as small as he could.

He could almost feel warm, protected. He closed his eyes, basking in the feeling. He avoided thinking that this was not normal, that he should stop, and rode the feeling until the end.

His magic gathered about him, cocooning him, until it condensed in a pearly shimmering substance, hardening to resemble an egg made of mother of pearl, rapidly darkening to a queer grey texture.

Panicking at the sudden strangeness and vague claustrophobia, Harry struggled, kicking, and ramming his head against the shell.

The shell suddenly gave, tumbling out, Harry squawked finding himself upended, staring at painfully blue sky. But still he felt, if not warm passably cool in opposition to being in fear of hypothermia. So he felt pleased, until he made to stand that is. His limbs, while strong felt strangely short, and his body too long.

He whimpered, he should have heeded his aunt's commands and refused anything out of the ordinary. Harry looked down at himself, then further down, as he seemed to have acquired a tail, as long as the rest of his body, long neck included. To either side huge wings stopped him from righting himself by rolling.

He drew in a breath, readying himself for a sigh, but his surprise at the amount of air he was capable of inhaling was surpassed by the feeling of growing lightness.

Struggling again, he was surprised to feel himself lift with every movement of his wings, not quite like a balloon, but with more ease than any bird.

He twisted round, ecstatic, until he realised that he was drifting off, every slight tremor of his wings sending him in a new direction. He panicked, emptying all his lungs and air sacs and various cavities, which caused acrid smoke to billow out of his mouth and nostrils, proving to be scalding, the snow in front of him melting almost instantly, and lowering him to the ground, gracelessly, but safe.

Harry perked up instantly, obviously the strange deeper breath was what allowed such a big creature as a dragon to fly, and when he grew up, he would be able to spit fire and do all sorts of amazing things, that no one normal could ever do. For once, Harry was grateful that he was different. Being a dragon explained so many things, well, except for the colour changing, but what was a little extra blue and green compared to the awesomeness of flying.

The little hatchling was nearly vibrating in excitement, maybe now he would be able to have friends, maybe meet some more of his kind, fly across the world. Maybe magic was real. He sometimes had flashes of recollection or dreams, perhaps they were memories, perhaps his parents were important, or alive in hiding.

Harry shook himself, his parents were dead, if they weren't, it would mean that they didn't want him, didn't love him. He put these unhappy thoughts out of his mind. Marvelling instead at his greatly improved sight, looking at the birds flying past, then amusing himself by trying (unsuccessfully) to blow smoke rings

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the house, Petunia Dursley had finally calmed down, she would explain that the boy had spilled syrup or paint on the new couch, but luckily, they had managed to talk the company into exchanging it with a new one, if in a different colour as they hadn't had the previous in avocado green, and really, that particular shade of blue was rather pretty, if not totally in accordance to the rest of the room. Current dilemma solved, she hurried to retrieve the boy, hoping she hadn't been overly harsh. Like her sister, she had always had a temper.<p>

Taking a warm towel from the last load of laundry to warm the boy, she opened the door, and screamed.

Making Harry once again wish for a friend, someone like him, but most of all, to be anywhere but here.

* * *

><p>Niprock ran along the corridor, skidded at the intersections, not even grunting at the growls and mutters of any hapless bystander, even knocking one over in a spray of flying paperwork. Even if that one did in fact receive a snicker.<p>

-"the record! It has been broken! Both age and strength" he gasped excitement plain in his voice

-"what record? And sit down, you cannot talk if you can't breath" his superior ordered, as impatient as ever

-"the record of the strongest accidental magic by a child under the age of eight. And in a muggle area to boot. Am I to send the usual offer? The signature resembles that of the potters, if it is indeed Harry Potter, we may experience some…complications"

-" you are correct of course, I will go myself, and offer my services to his guardians. Dig up all information that you can, if we gain the boy's favour and loyalty, the sheep will follow"

-"to freedom and acknowledgement" they both intoned, rising and heading out

* * *

><p>tearopal, director of public relationships, Gringotts, cursed her size. Apparating, she could do, glamours to make her seem human, no matter how distasteful they may be, she could do, wading through waist high snow was however not included in the job description and taxing, especially as the wards seemed to resent her being here.<p>

Hearing a scream, tearopal bolted towards the backyard, where a thin overworked woman stared at an oddly coloured dragon hatchling, not unlike a Hungarian horntail, if one ignored the longer body and larger wings. Opal whistled, if it was a true beast, as it seemed to be, it would be a fearsome beast once grown.

Both heads snapped towards her, sensing that this was perhaps a rather trying time for all parties involved, decided to defuse the situation.

Ushering both inside, after confirming identities and happenings, opal set about explaining the situation. Offering Gringotts private teams as the ministry could trace magic only through the trace in a wand.

-"well self transfiguration is impressive, and dangerous. I will have to get a specialist, as, like animagi transformations, if reversed incorrectly or over used, the user is likely to take on the characteristics of the form. If there are major size discrepancies this is especially dangerous. Now I won't make it any of my business what you do with your form once you've unlocked it, but I warn you, the skin of a creature such as a dragon or any other creature of magic is not so easily taken off once worn. Use it only in the direst of circumstances. As you achieved this form unwillingly, it would be for the best if we could place a monitoring charm, tuned to your location and magic. Should you ever be overwhelmed and transform; it would be for the best if we could track you down as fast as possible."

Opal pressed the advantage, seeing, as she was not refused, offering a tutor, to reduce the accidental magic, securing the goblin nation, a chance at moulding one of the future, one of the influential, and therefore, the future in itself. Pleased with herself, Tearopal ran lists of possible candidates, a goblin would be best, of course, but unsubtle, sensitizing the boy through another race would perhaps further the cause in the long run, and alleviate the suspicions of self-service, which would be sure to come should the arrangement come to light, which it inevitably would. She would have to consult on this, she mused gleefully.


	2. why the caged bird sings

_~~still in the potterverse_

Tearopal was taking notes; the boy's situation was quite irregular.

-"exceptional power, with little to no training. All listed magical guardians are dead or unavailable. Albus Dumbledore as magical guardian _de facto _when he barely has time to run his own school. I doubt he has ever checked on the boy once he started walking.

He just will not do. The only feasible candidates are one Remus Lupin, and for some reason, Severus Snape. one is a werewolf who has emigrated to one of the shaman tribes in Africa, and the other is rumoured to be a death eater spy, whose rivalry and hatred of the late James Potter is legendary, the potter will states a life debt.

Clearly we must nominate a new guardian, respectable but favourable to us. The lovegood's unfortunate reputations of madness rule them out. The weasleys are perhaps more acceptable, but really, it would be unfair to all parties to entrust yet another child into their care; the wards would also be too complicated to alter.

Perhaps it would be for the best if we could groom the parents of a half-blood into suitable guardians, but the public opinion and the pressure set on them could be detrimental to the overall execution of their duties, also their open mindedness and impressionability could very well be used against us."

Niprock coughed, interrupting his superiors muttering.-" During my research, I happened to note that one of Sirius Black's disinherited relations is married to a muggle, and has a child in hufflepuff, a rival seeker to Charlie Weasley, and a metamorphmagus. Andromeda Tonks, née Black has the lineage and the Black stubbornness to quell any opposition, and her experience with a metamorphmagus should render her more apt to deal with an animagus child."

-"I suppose that could work, still we must monitor her for a while, and get a listed guardian's signature. Sirius Black's should do, by now he must be so insane he'd sign anything and should the legality be questioned, we can always point out the lack of trial."

Niprock shifted nervously, as much as he hated to interrupt his superiors, especially ones in a tetchy mood, his work ethic demanded he interject.

-"perhaps we should notify the sirs Lupin and Snape as to the possible change of guardianship, and invite them to visit the boy and see if they still don't want him. They'll refuse of course, but it would show willing, perhaps propose a position as tutor to Lupin, he should prove easy to monitor and a good influence.'"

-"agreed, send the owls. Schedule the magical guardianship transfer in one year, total guardianship in another two if possible and advisable. Arrange for a curse breaker and a transfiguration master to turn the boy back. Better send in an obliviation squad to go round the neighbourhood just in case.

* * *

><p>Petunia and Vernon Dursley looked at each other nervously, they'd never really meant to let things go this far, but now they had to face the music, their actions, and a dragon.<p>

Petunia braced herself while her husband hovered by the doorway. In her hands, she held a plate with a half cooked chicken.

"Harry?" Harry, still a dragon, looked up, staring at the chicken, wings half lifted, trembling slightly. He'd been put in Dudley's playroom, and told to stay there. Luckily, his bladder seemed to be stronger than in his other form, but so was his stomach, he was so very hungry. He didn't even really mind that the chicken didn't seem ready, or that it was nearly as big as his body.

"Harry, we've been thinking. We have decided that you are old enough for you to have a proper room. The person who visited, when you just had your…accident sent a letter. They are going to find you a tutor to help you control your powers.

As soon as they say you have enough control, we'll go buy you some good furniture, which you will not vanish, transfigure enchant or damage in any way. Are we clear?"

Harry nodded, moving out of the cupboard was great news, as was the thought that they hadn't been mean just for the sake of it, Dudley had the best of everything because he, little scruffy Harry was special. Not because he was insane and delusional or unwanted or a freak. But really, right now he just wanted to eat.

"Until you turn back you are absolutely not allowed to go out of this room, or to open the curtains. If you need anything you are to ask me and I will bring it, I will be checking on you from time to time. You are responsible for keeping this room tidy and clean, and you will learn how to properly make a bed.

Now as you know you will be learning how to read this year. You will master this skill as fast as possible; I will not let you be anything other than a good law abiding upstanding citizen. Lily, your mother, left when she was eleven, she could have been anything, but she could never have been normal. Barely able to do normal calculus or essays. She ended up being a guerrilla fighter in a secret resistance group under a crazy old man and a housewife. Don't look at me like that, as soon as you two don't need watching, I will be returning to finish my studies. Until then, you will be advancing your studies as much as you can, you will also learn some basic house skills, you will learn to cook a few basic meals, how to do the washing and care for plants. Vernon has also agreed to explain sums, finance and managing"

Harry looked at Uncle Vernon, who scowled, and muttered that he wasn't doing it for his sake but for Petunia, because the sooner he had a job and was independent, the sooner she could become a nurse. Before adding that he'd better hurry up and turn back because he wasn't paying for a chicken every day.

Harry, despairing of ever receiving said chicken only nodded. When the plate was set before him and he was left alone, he pounced, eating all the meat, even the gizzards and cracking the bones to get to the marrow, before curling up to sleep. Smoke wafting from his nostrils every few breaths.

* * *

><p><em>~~narutoverse<em>

Naruto sighed as he stashed his groceries. He had been to the park earlier, to try and make some friends, but as usual he was ignored or glared at, if by chance a child did approach him, he was always quickly whisked away. He'd tried everything, he wore bright colours, smiled and laughed, acted like everyone else, but still he was alone. He couldn't take refuge in books because his reading was atrocious, even for a six year old. He was desperate, the constant loneliness, the pressure of the other's cold eyes, he knew what happened to overworked ninjas, the cold and aloof. They went crazy or bad, or they snapped on a mission, which always meant death, and not always theirs. He didn't even have the excuse of being a genius, unable to connect with his lowly peers. He knew that the hokage knew he was breaking inside, he'd been making time for him, when he barely had time to sleep, or see his real family, he'd even assigned anbu to look after him during the dangerous time, like the New Year or the kyuubi festival. That was how he'd found out about summons. Dog-san had summoned a lot of big dogs when a rowdy crowd had come yelling and drinking into his street breaking window and throwing stones. One of the smallest had even stayed with him and talked to him afterwards, called himself pakkun. He explained how konoha had several contracts, one for toads, slugs monkeys, dogs like himself and then there were the contracts held by the clans, usually kept a secret, at this he had winked, he'd said there was a forbidden library guarded by the hokage, full of scrolls, most held confidential and dangerous information or techniques, but perhaps there was a scroll or two. He'd then said that most of the time contracts were guarded by one of the summons, or the master summoner, if he was especially trusted. However, some were entrusted to another person for safekeeping, or hidden.

Naruto had then begged for them to come back, but the anbu had appeared uncomfortable, pained even, or guilty, and told them he had only been assigned this mission as punishment for escaping the hospital.

Naruto had deduced that his only way of finding a real friend was to find a contract, he'd begged, whined and asked around, until at last, a young chuunin called Mizuki had told him where the library was. He'd said that there was a test, to see if he was worthy of signing a contract, he would have to steal it, by any means possible, and escape untracked to a predetermined point, if he succeeded, Mizuki or another person approved by him would teach him how to summon.

Naruto stood up, it was decided, he was going to try to earn a scroll. The only reason he hadn't gone for it at once was that, well what chance did a six-year-old academy first year have? He could barely read. But perhaps he could fool the proctors, or perhaps they would go easy on him. Although Mizuki did say that this was a test only the best undertook, and that standards couldn't be lowered too much, most proctors would react in a normal way by instinct, that is to say, shoot to kill. He had gone on to say that he would recommend waiting a few years, after graduating.

Naruto had lost his temper, ranting about sabotage and traitors and getting the hokage himself to give him a scroll. Mizuki had tensed, obviously to a ninja even by the village pariah, talk of traitors is painful, the village was still in uproar from the Uchiha Massacre. Naruto had feared he had driven away the only person ready to help him, but no, Mizuki had sternly told to keep talk of traitors to himself, and to keep quiet about the test, as it was kept semi-secret, to avoid having to root through two dozen useless genins every month. He'd seemed sorry when he saw Naruto's downcast face, sorry enough to write down instructions on how to access chakra, and tell him to meet him in a month.

This month had passed. Naruto's reading had progressed in leaps and bounds, mostly because with the knowledge that he could unlock his chakra a full two years early, if he could read the instructions. And he somehow knew this was a secret and an adventure and he mustn't tell anyone, maybe he was doing the scroll test already, ninja were sneaky that way. Therefore, he pestered and annoyed the hokage's secretary until she gave in and tutored him, until he could read all the simple words, and muddle his way through the rest. This had taken the better part of the month, the last few days, he had devoted to unlocking his chakra, he wasn't there yet, he knew, but he was close, he could feel it.

He needed to get a good meal and a good night's sleep, tomorrow, he would either get himself a summons's contract and a eternally loyal friend, or more likely get himself turned into a pincushion by overenthusiastic chuunin. Or jounin, or anbu, gods he hopes it would be chuunin. Clan children or those with high-ranking parents in general always said a ninjas reflexes never turned off, and were dangerous. Of course, his small size would then be an advantage, as it would throw any automatic lethal aiming off, they would be used to fighting adults.

Still, he was doomed, why was he doing this again? Oh yes, a friend, and sanity.


	3. a glass cage

_~~potterverse_

Dudley Dursley was not a happy boy. not only had he started school this year, so had the boy, and he was doing better than him, and now both his parents were cooing over him, they'd given him his playroom and everything. He'd heard talk of tutors and private school and specialness.

Well he, Dudley Dursley was going to stop his parents from being stolen, he'd already had his, it wasn't his fault if he had lost them, no need to steal other peoples parents too.

Dudley squared his shoulders, well, tried to, he more resembled a ball of fat than anything else, and waddled to the door of his playroom, opening the door with a flourish, ready to put the boy, that parent-napping freak in his rightful place, back in his cupboard only to stop in the doorway, gaping.

It is after all a universally accepted truth, that any young boy, stumbling upon a young dragon where he expected a boy, will be quit surprised.

"Are…are you real, are you tame? Of course you are, your…your not Harry are you?"

Already, a mercenary gleam of piggy cunning and greed had entered his eyes. In his mind schemes of walking a dragon, of riding him to school, of amassing heaps of sweets and toys and money by allowing people to pet him and take photos if they paid. He could become president and an astronaut and everything he wanted, he would just have to threaten to set his dragon on them. All that was left was to catch Harry and make him promise to obey him, maybe put a collar on him or something.

He knew he would have to catch him by surprise, after all, he was stronger, but Harry had always been faster, unless he could corner him, his best bet would probably be to just pounce on him and hold on until he exhausted himself, then extract fealty to let him go. He was proud of himself, both for his plan and reasoning, and for remembering the fealty word, his dad said it was a smart word.

Harry had been backing away slowly, retreat made awkward by his tail, which threatened to trip him at every step. On the best of days, that kind of look on Dudley's face was bad news.

He started breathing oddly, trying to do that strange deeper breath, or anything else that could help him, smoke billowing, gathering oddly about his body, trying to gather that feeling he had had when he had changed , all the while wishing fervently he could be somewhere else, somewhere warm without Dudley or any of his other bullying friends. When Dudley finally pounced, he had worked himself into a frenzy, body braced, wings outstretched, only to howl in pain as he was bowled over, tail tripping him, making him fall on a wing, which snagged on some of the odd spines on his head and neck, which reminded him of hair. The wings were obviously sensitive; the pain from the dozen or so tears in his wing caused him to black out.

_~~narutoverse_

Naruto panted, nerves were making his chest freeze up, but he had done it. He'd walked up to the Hokage's office, practiced his reading until the Hokage came out, jumped up, playing the over exited child and showed him his report card, it was true that his grades had gone up drastically since the secretary tutored him, even if they still weren't very good, he didn't risk being held back, if only the teachers could see that, their comments were all rather mean, even if some did hit home, still, his performance seemed satisfactory, as the Hokage had smiled, nodded, then had left, saying he had to go speak to the council and some teachers, obviously he was in on the test. He had snuck in the library, nodding to the guard. People were used to seeing him around, sometimes fetching scrolls for the secretary, so maybe they thought he was on an errand, and if they were in on the test, then just strolling in would hopefully shock them long enough for him to get inside, close the entrance, take a scroll and run like hell. Hopefully.

He was inside, now he just needed to find a scroll. Naruto rooted around, slugs, toads and dogs were well known, but a bit lame. No, wanted to find a scroll for tigers or eagles, something awesome, not gross and slimy. Moreover, someone already had the dogs. Therefore, he looked in the stacks; dust rendering the scrolls similar and non-distinct, suddenly, a larger than usual scroll stuck out, a red label with some complicated writing on it marked it out. Naruto pulled it out, checking its insides; it was a summoning scroll all right.

Keeping himself from letting loose a cry of victory, he bundled up the scroll, hoisted it on his shoulder and set of , walking while keeping an eye out, when he had reached the outskirts, he'd ran. He had even gotten there early.

He opened the scroll eagerly, he knew he had to sign it, and by the looks of it, with blood, which was logical, really, so he did, jumping up and snatching the scroll when the wind picked up and blew it away, cursing as it has left a bloody streak where his finger had been. The proctor still wasn't anywhere in sight, so Naruto shrugged and started to practice channelling his chakra, while sitting on the scroll.

He started to get a tingly feeling in his veins, a soothing yet painful burn, elated, he put his all into it, he had finally got it, and he was going to be a real ninja!

Then he yelped, the scroll had singed his butt! There was smoke everywhere and there was this keening noise.

Then he mentally kicked himself, of coarse there was smoke, he'd just summoned a dragon through his butt, damn, how was he supposed to explain **that **to Mizuki-sensei.

Then he winced, the dragon he'd summoned was on it's side, a wing trapped beneath it and it seemed to be broken too. it wasn't even a very impressive dragon too, still cool of coarse because, hey it was a dragon he'd just summoned. But it was only as big as a normal dog, if you ignored the wings and tail, which were huge and kinda awkward. Its sides were weird and ugly too, actually its colour was weird too. It was an off-white colour, except on the spines and ridges and bumps which darkened into a deep black, without being shiny or overly flashy. The only noticeable colour was it's bright forest green eyes, and a slightly raised patch on it's forehead, which was also a brilliant green. Looking more closely, Naruto noticed that there were some very pale grey dapples on the edge of its wings and on the sort of fan at the end of it's tail.

…

Hatake Kakashi, anbu captain, copy-nin, listed in all the bingo books, was thoroughly cursing his luck, jinchurikis, chuunin who were too good at what they did, useless guards and just about everything to do with his situation. What guard just lets a 6-year-old go in and take a trapped scroll from a secret library, without so much as a question? What kind of village lets an academy student haul a scroll as big as he is tall without even wondering why he has it? And what kind of academy student manages to get out of a hidden village and hide so well the only person able to find him is a chuunin? An annoying chuunin at that.

…

"Umm, are you alright? Okay, okay, I know it's a stupid question, but it's expected. Come on let's get you straightened out. I bandaged a bird's wing once. It can't be too different. Woah! Your heavier than you look, you know that? Ow! Your head is spiky! Look, you even put holes in your wing. Shouldn't you go back to where you came from to heal? Not that I want you to leave, of coarse, but I don't want you to hurt for nothing. Say, will you be my friend? Dog-san said you could. Hey, can you talk?"

Harry was a little dazed, he'd blacked out and woken up in a place that smelled like a forest, only slightly different, with a smelly boy who wouldn't stop talking, and he had such a headache. His wing hurt as well, and he felt all weak and so hungry.

"my name is Naruto, Na-ru-to, come on say it. Hey do you have a name? Or do I get to name you?"

He groaned. He hadn't tried speaking yet, but now would be the time to try, or he would get some stupid name like ripper or fang, or Norbert *shudder*.

"Ha-" Harry coughed; his voice was all creaky and different and seemed to vibrate in his chest. "Harry, Harry Potter. Nice to meet you, Naruto"

"You can talk! You're…"

At this point, the two adults arrived, anbu-dog (Kakashi in full uniform) grabbing Naruto and leaping to the top of a branch, kunai in hand. Iruka simply stood there giant tick mark pulsing "In so much trouble! What on earth possessed you to go to the Hokage's library and steal a scroll, especially a tagged one?" iruka yelled out, school teacher voice making itself known.

"Ah!" Naruto turned and pointed, "Found you! You're late! I've been here ages! Umm, I know I've already summoned Hari here, but could you please teach me how to summon? I kinda did it by accident."

" idiot! I found you! Not the other way round. And why would I teach you how to summon? And how can you summon something by accident?"

"you're not part of the test? Because I got the scroll, and Mizuki was supposed to teach me how to summon so I could have friends." Naruto asked, confused, starting to panic, he had been fooled from time to time, but never with consequences so grave, he had after all stolen from the hokage.

Harry looked up, he could sense someone coming, their footsteps made the ground vibrate, nearly as much as Naruto's." umm, someone seems to be heading this way"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed behind his mask, randomly stealing a scroll wasn't like him, being fooled like the idiot knucklehead he was, was. "Umino-san, get these lot to the Hokage, I dare say he will want to speak to them. I will deal with the scroll and the newcomer"

Iruka looked at Naruto suspiciously for a few seconds, before bending down next to Harry. Checking for injuries before setting the bone. Apparently deciding he was harmless, he picked him up, slinging over one shoulder, ignoring his squawk of protest. He grabbed Naruto's ear and frogmarched him towards the Hokage's office.


	4. to break a glass cage

_~~narutoverse_

Harry puffed smoke disconsolately, he had barely gotten used to being trundled along by this sensei person when he had been dumped in front of this old man with a pipe, and then he had had the gall to tell him to go away, when he'd just been brought there. When he had said as much, some man in a mask had thrown him in a room. At least they had had the decency of giving him some food, even if it was raw.

But they'd still taken him away from his first and only friend. He clawed at the floor in distress, he did not understand everything, but he understood enough to know that they were in big trouble, and that he obviously wasn't in surrey.

His ruff perked up when the door opened, only to droop down again when a small ugly pug trotted in.

"Err, hey I'm supposed to help you dispel, I heard you're stuck, that you didn't leave even when you broke your wing. What's your name? By the way, I'm Pakkun."

Harry's eyes widened, they were trying to get rid of him just like the Dursley wanted to get rid of him. He started backing away, trying to inch towards the door.

"Don't be like that. Look, why don't you get your boss and we can talk this over."

Harry drew in a breath, he had to rescue his friend, obviously he would have to fly to escape the dog, luckily they had tried the non-threatening method, they had left he door open.

Pakkun gaped as the winged lizard thing bloated up, tripling in width, floating gently in the air, before it flapped its wings and zipped off, crashing into doorways, walls and humans, eliciting confused yells from the secretaries. Especially when his summoner stopped laughing his arse off and grabbed the mystery summon's tail and paced resolutely towards the old man's office, seemingly oblivious to the squalling balloon flapping desperately behind him.

He ran after them, unwilling to miss the show.

"Look, bouncy paws!"

Kakashi entered the office shaking his head slightly. Whatever the container had done had obviously locked the summon onto this plane, or maybe it was a trick scroll designed to fool enemies into signing it; but then why was it so…harmless? Slow poisons were never his sensei's style, had the summon recognized the boy's blood, conflicting orders causing it to be stuck. But why would a guardian be so harmless he mused as the creature latched on to said container with its over grown wings, growling in annoyance as its fan-like wing slapped him in the face.

"Dog-san, you can release Hari-kun now. I believe we have established a consensus.

I will be placing tracking seals on both which will be linked to you. Please work out a schedule between yourself and Umino-sensei so he is checked upon everyday. I have judged his misdeeds to be due to a lack of proper guidance and supervision. I will be having Hari looked at by one of the Hyuuga tomorrow. Until then, please escort them to their apartment, where they are to remain unless told otherwise by Umino-sensei or myself. You will return for a full briefing, immediately," the Hokage announced with a warning gaze at all parties concerned.

Naruto turned away from the opened window with tears in his eyes, nearly vibrating in excitement. "I can keep you," he mumbled, arms encircling Harry's long neck.

Harry huffed "I'm a friend, not a pet."

They were waiting in a bland hospital room with another group of people, who looked to be around Naruto's age, maybe older by a year or two. There was a girl with buns in her hair, biting her nails nervously. A weird kid with white eyes and a blank face was standing in a corner exuding an aura of general displeasure. The last was far more interesting to both Naruto and Harry, holding a white puppy, he was as scruffy as Naruto, and as short-tempered, when Harry pointed out that he was as stinky as him.

Still, they got on well after their initial spat, after learning that both were here to get their companion's chakra checked out.

They were chatting animatedly, Naruto was in his second year at the academy, Kiba was due to start next year, but as he was tutored by his clan, they both had plenty to speak about.

The door opened, and a boy, obviously trying not to cry came out, an adult with a hideous green jumpsuit followed him. The girl rushed over to him, obviously trying to comfort him.

Naruto shifted, feeling awkward, before going over to the boy an giving him a nervous, clumsy but supposedly manly one armed hug, trying to be supportive, not at all trying to get a group hug going.

Akamaru and Harry giving looking at each over, both jumped in, toppling the huddle, Harry having conveniently forgotten that he wasn't as small as he used to be.

As Akamaru barked triumphantly from the top of the dog pile, goading kiba to jump in, eliciting groans of complaint from those underneath, the beautiful green beast of Konoha quietly left the room tears of youth gushing down his face at the beauty of friendship.

A slightly dazed Lee crawled from under the bodies, "not that I don't appreciate it, but who are you?"

Naruto grinned, here was his chance to make some more friends " I'm Naruto, this is Hari, he might be a summon, that's kiba, he's an idiot, and there's Akamaru, he's a dog."

Kiba tackled him "you're the idiot, and Akamaru isn't just a dog!"

Tenten interrupted "He isn't? Because he sure looks like a dog to me. I'm Tenten by the way, and if you say girls can't be ninja's, I'll hurt you," she finished, cracking her knuckles

Kiba shifted nervously, girls were scary, and "he's a ninken"

"I am rock Lee academy student, and even if I am unable to mould chakra, I will become a mighty ninja by my will and hard work, I shall become a taijutsu specialist."

"Akamaru can't channel chakra either, that's why he's so puny" Naruto drifted off before jumping off "hey, if I could unblock a summoning scroll, I could unblock you"

Seven year old Neji looked up, he had been observing the proceedings to a chakra exams, and had then been kicked out while the adults discussed the details, which was incredibly frustrating, and now he was being ignored, they didn't seem to have a problem making friends but not one had approached him, was it because he belonged to the branch and not the main clan? Perhaps he should observe, they couldn't really do much damage, being pre-genin, but it couldn't hurt, and messing with chakra coils was dangerous.

The lizard, he observed, had the strangest chakra he had ever seen, but perhaps that was normal, he had never seen a summon, as they disliked being shown off outside of battle. Naruto also had strange chakra, it seemed denser than normal, but within the boundaries of what could be explained by genetics. He frowned, he should not have that much chakra, and there seemed to be a seal providing additional chakra, a chakra which felt decidedly foul.

His eyes widened, the spot where the summon's chakra and the red chakra was glowing, distorting itself, his studies in chakra nature were not advanced, but he knew enough to know that this was far from normal, he lunged, intent on separating the two. Kiba, seeing the blur coming from the shadows, tackled it with a war cry, crashing into Harry, who spread his wings, trying to regain his balance, but succeeding only in covering all the children, increasing the confusion, never noticing the flash and the puff of smoke.

_~~authorverse_

_a vaguely anthropomorphic dust pile cackled madly,climbing from under a bed as it held a wildly struggling plotbunny in one hand, before trapping it in a folded piece of paper, to be put under a dictionary on the use of semi-colons, colons and punctuation._

_~~authorsnotoverse_

sorry about the wait, but this bit was hard, incredebly hard. in the end i skipped the meeting with the Hokage, I just couldn't write it convincingly. I also got attacked by rabid plotbunnies, they ate all my notes and homework.


	5. stretching wings

warning: nothing major, just a hermaphrodite,and a kiss. so if m/vaguelym squicks you out well just skim, is not a really interesting chapter, just a bit of scene setting.

Harry raised his head warily, he'd had that feeling again, and sure enough, they were in a clearing, in the middle of a forest, which was looking decidedly swampy, and not in a waiting room, where they could have expected to be.

Keeping his wings firmly down on the writhing group, desperately trying to find a solution, resembling a nesting hen, he failed to notice a crouching… person .

"Are you anakiel, risen from his father's ashes, avenger of the unforgotten?" he intoned, glancing from time to time at a grimoire, which lay at the ground.

Harry snapped round, in doing so he released the five others, who stood their ground, settling into ready stances, some readying kunai, recognising a possibly hostile situation.

"Are you amagore, scourge of sinful and pure alike, destroyer of weak and strong?" the creature intoned, voice wavering in nervousness.

"Umm, no. sorry," the dragon settled on its haunches, drawing its wing back, it was now as high as a table at the shoulders, observing the creature intently. It was humanoid, lightly furred all over, feline tail and ears, a greyish colour, piercing yellow eyes. Innocently Naruto asked, "Hey, are you a cat?"

Neji frowned, activating his byakugan, then performing a kai, " I do not sense any genjutsu, I believe this is his real body, he is not however human, his tenketsu are not in their usual places"

Harry seemed to ponder this for a while, and then cocking his head to the side asked "who are you again?"

The…person's ears flicked in annoyance, "I am Skeera of the khajit, your summoner. You shall obey my orders to slay the argonian clan, except Gizmo, whom you shall bring to me, unharmed."

Puffing smoke in annoyance, Harry interjected" no, no, no, not you, him!"

Neji looked around, bewildered "who? Me?" before regaining his aplomb, he was a prodigy of the honourable Hyuuga "I am Hyuuga Neji, I'm seven. Nice to meet you, and who would you be?" he asked turning to another creature, which had been lurking in a tree. Reptilian, large pads on his bare feet and fingers, fairly tall he seemed to measure 1m70, a head taller than Skeera.

"Yo" he jumped down, apparently at ease, "hey, Skee, my sun and stars, d'ya wanna elope?" he finished with a rakish grin, jumping to the ground with ease, hoisting a voluminous bag on his shoulder "and while I'm at it, can I say WTF about them, it, whatever that's supposed to be. What is it supposed to be by the way?" he asked, pointing to the group of children, and a dragon of course.

Skeera's ears drooped in embarrassment, "I'd love to elope with you, I love you, you know that. And them, well I summoned them, and they're going to help us elope, aren't you" then ensued normal actions during proposals of such a nature, tender hugging/kissing/making out, while the younger among us ewed because, well, kissing is icky of course, the only exception was perhaps Harry who was rather nonplussed, and Neji who was too busy figuring out whether Skeera was male or female. Having more than X-ray vision, one quickly learns all about reproduction, and well, everything, but one did not truly learn whether one counted as male or female when one had both sets of genitalia, at the same time, well technically the vagina was the colon, but that could hardly be practical, but as the digestive system seemed different, perhaps it .was not an issue. Neji quietly resolved to study in depth their fascinating anatomy, when it was not in use.

Harry, sensing his companions' discomfort, cleared his throat, successfully separating the two lovebirds, although that may be more thanks to the lance of flame, which missed them by a very uncomfortable distance.

"Ooh so that's how it worked" the dragon exclaimed, with a pleased, slightly ridiculous wriggle of his hindquarters, before starting again, thankfully directing his head towards a less inhabited area.

Both Naruto and Tenten acquired maniacal gleams to their eyes, before jumping into each other's arms, squealing about how cool it was and how their little Hari was all grown up.

The group then proceeded to elope, after explaining what eloping actually meant of course. The two star-crossed lovers, both sixteen or thereabouts taking charge of the ragtag team. Gizmo couldn't really say he approved of summoning a demon to wipe out his clan, but couldn't really hold a grudge, not against his mate, who was a little flighty but meant wall, mostly, and really, he didn't believe Skeera could have invoked demons, and if they were, they weren't very fearsome. It was far more likely that this mixing of energies the creepy boy had spoken of was the source of their current displacement, and had been drawn to their call by narrativium, after all, the ways of the great Author are mysterious, and all men and women and hermaphrodites must play their roles. Now the children were under their responsibility, it was their duty. He had quietly confided to Skeera that perhaps this was fate, knowing that due to their diverging species, they would never reproduce; they had been given children, a family beyond themselves and those that had rejected them for their feelings towards each other.

They would take them far away, and create their own clan, somehow, free of prejudice. They would raise the children, care for them as best as they could. Skeera had sneaked into her village and had packed her few belongings and as many provisions as she could, and they had walked.

Progress was slow at best, even for the experienced, the marshes were dangerous. The ground swallowing the unwary, the many crisscrossing streams, holding little water but covering them in mud to the thigh, would be deadly to the little ones. Even the dragon Harry was a liability, at least until they realized that he would float without flapping his wing. Skeera had been very relieved when they had made a hodgepodge harness and loaded him up like a dirigible of old. He was even able hold up the children who had all been tethered when one fell in a sinkhole, of he more than made up for his usefulness by his appetite, pouncing on a bullfrog tadpole and devouring it before Gizmo had time to divide or even cook it, he'd still had plenty of appetite when they had stumbled upon a herd of long legged marsh walkers devouring half a dozen on his own, and Gizmo had a feeling he could have eaten as many more, Naruto too was a bottomless pit. This would be hard, they did not have claws like his beloved or sucker pads on his hands and feet like himself, they could not cling to the trees well enough to be mobile or escape a flash flood. Still, at least they did not whine nor where they as feeble as most children, that could of coarse be due to their species, but it was a blessing nonetheless.

Come nighttime, the extra pairs of hands, that didn't mind him sharing a tent with his mate were appreciated. Neji had an uncanny knack for seeing potholes and soggy spots, and a bout of dragon fire made lighting a fire so much quicker, not to mention that it chased away the lingering dampness and humidity of autumn from the ground.

His little girl Tenten was so gifted with her hands too, she efficiently made knots even he didn't know. And Lee and Naruto the annoying Duo had made quick work of gathering firewood, although their wood choice was sometimes hindered by their enthusiasm and captivity. Gizmo smiled, he would lead his family to a nice patch of forest and they would build a farmhouse. Looking at Harry who seemed to have grown another arms length from when he had last looked at him, he mused that perhaps going outside the forest would be for the best, a dragon was clearly a creature of the sky, and he could barely spread his wing within the confines of the trees.

But still, they would be happy; he would make sure of it.


	6. coiled in a jar

_~~potterverse_

Sirius black was mad. Not the gibbering in the corner mad, not quite as mad as dear Bellatrix, but mad nonetheless.

Here was the first word from the outside, the first word from his godson, and they were asking him to just hand him over. The bastards probably expected him to be too mad to refuse.

He'd then calmed down, reread the letter then howled in rage, setting off all the other prisoners. They'd dared put him with that shrew Petunia. At least Snivellus had a life debt to keep him in check, and utter bastard he may be, he was loyal, mostly.

They'd known Moony would be refused of course, they'd listed him anyway, truly he would be the best parent, except that one night of the month.

Sirius screamed at the injustice of it all.

Glaring blankly at the paper, he had to admit Andromeda was a better choice than say, the Dursleys.

...

A curse woke him from his sombre thoughts.

" Looks like your lucky, scum. You've a letter from your wolf," a guard sneered, flinging a piece of paper. He'd always thought it ironic that the most warded wizarding prison used muggle paper, apparently it disintegrated under enchantments, or any kind of magic, and therefore couldn't be cursed or charmed to help escape any prisoners. An added bonus was that any letter from outsiders would fade away, stealing any comfort they had brought. Most of the human staff at Azkaban just screened then copied letters to the prison's denizens.

Shuffling over to the paper, dreading what it could say, he say it was from Moony.

Apparently he'd received a letter from the goblins, he'd wondered why he was the legal guardian, when he was a convicted criminal. He'd done some digging around, and apparently he wasn't convicted because there had been no trial. He'd done some more digging, he invoked Snape's life debt to help him, Pettigrew was alive. he believed him. He had gotten to know Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks.

Little Harry had turned himself into a dragon. Little Harry had disappeared.

The goblins were the ones to initiate the guardian change. He had met them, the Dursleys, he had signed, never mind that Andromeda, Blood-traitor or not, was a dark pureblood with all that it entailed. The Dursleys had been mistreating his little Harry.

Sirius stood and transformed. He would save his Harry, it was his duty.

He sneaked past a pair of dementors, only cold rage and determination keeping him running, he knew he would probably need to swim to cross that stretch of sea, a cold barrier between him and freedom, but he couldn't stop to catch his breath, he hadn't been noticed yet, and every second counted as he had no idea when manned patrols were.

He veered off, there was the boat used to bring supplies, little more than a raft, it was still very welcome indeed, and probably protected, he would have to bank on it not recognizing animagi, he would also probably have to do this manually, as a dog.

Leaping on the unstable platform, he grabbed the chain and pulled, ignoring the foul taste and certain damage to his teeth, only allowing himself a few moments rest when he was halfway through, the strain of Azkaban showing, he collapsed panting.

He perked up, there lay half a sandwich, his stomach overruling his head, he inhaled it, then worried about curses and poisons, this had been too easy, was this a trap? Still he had to persevere, this was all for James' son.

Trembling, he walked onto the shore, eyes peeled, expecting aurors and sirens at every step, after a minute, his nerves snapped, and he ran, ignoring the pain from his abused body, not even registering the joy of finally running of being free, he ran till he collapsed, then ran again.

He ran past a clump of foxglove, then stopped, sides heaving. How could he save Harry, when he didn't know where he was. He staggered to a puddle and drank, mindless of the stale water and the mud. He had to find information, and a safe place, the best solution would be to find Harry, get Moony and go to the goblins, even in hell his godson was famous, so surely the goblins would agree to keep them safe, if it meant the boy-who-lived was sympathetic to them. They were always lenient with wizarding laws when profit was involved, especially theirs.

But how to contact them? He couldn't just waltz in, and he had even less chance at getting info about Harry, as he was supposed to want to kill him, if he was a death-eater. The mere thought making him shiver, he trekked on at a more sedate pace, he needed shelter, he couldn't make one in his current form, the best he could hope for was a burrow or something.

He sneezed. There was a foul and pungent smell in the air, as if someone was brewing potions, which meant humans, which meant shelter, and hopefully food. What someone was doing here in the middle of nowhere was anybodies guess, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He limped towards the smell, whimpering from time to time, from both the smell and the distance, and life in general.

He perked up when he saw the hut, obviously a potion master's, by the smell, and the gardens around it. Most brewers had them, plots of land isolated from civilization, usually reserved for volatile potions which could suffer from ambient magic, or were dangerous, there had been enough deaths from noxious fumes that severe legislation on potions was knocked into auror recruits heads, repeatedly. Some people also used them to brew the really smelly potions too, as potion fumes tend to linger in some cases, this seemed to be the case here, the smell seemed so intense.

Sirius made his way to the door carefully, it did not seem heavily warded, but it paid to be careful, after all, the last use for potion shacks were to brew the illegal or dark ones, or to hide all sorts of dangerous things.

Had the situation been any other, Sirius would have avoided it like the plague, and not just because of the stink. Still, he had always been the reckless one, and he didn't have much choice, if he didn't find food and shelter, he wouldn't last long, and he had a godson to save.

In front of the door, he stopped, here was the bane of canines, the doorknob.

As a highly intelligent, dashingly handsome animal, he could open them most of the time, however some scheming sadistic bastard had put a round doorknob on the front door. No-one sane puts round doorknobs outside, even humans can't open them if its raining.

Sirius looked around, before giving in to necessity and turning human, hoping that there wasn't a trace on him.

He opened the door, gagging slightly at the smell of rank, stale potions, not unlike vomit and old socks after a marathon, before padding around warily, checking for hidden traps and doors, containing the urge to say bingo when a section of the wall proved to be a hidden door, surprisingly unwarded.

He scrabbled at the hinges before prying it open, sagging in relief at the sight of a shelf of tins and a cot next to a tiny stove.

He looked around, digging in a drawer desperately, surely there was a tin opener somewhere. Throwing his hands up in the air, he turned round, surely there would be a sturdy knife somewhere, and arming himself couldn't be a bad idea, not that it would do much difference without a wand, and he still was weak as a kitten.

He hadn't seen any sturdy knives in the living compartment, he would have to venture into the potion lab, which he was slightly wary of.

Well, the brewer seemed to be muggle born judging by the tinned food, so hopefully there wouldn't be any really nasty wards, now he just had to hope that the brewer was good enough to have some decent equipment, maybe supplies to brew some potions to speed his recovery, but not good enough that he would be wary of jealous rivals and break-ins and sabotage. Potioneers were nasty, Sirius thought not so fondly of Snivellus and his dark curses, before promptly passing out.

* * *

><p>One Severus Snape was in a bad mood, not that this was truly unusual, he had naturally been furious when that mongrel Lupin had pranced in with that insufferable look of pity and, perish the thought, compassion. He had put salt on the wounds he had borne for so long, that little Harry had inherited his fathers dislike for him, that he had refused him even a visit , preferring the muggles he knew were obnoxious snobby stains upon humanity. And deep down he also resented that he was helpless, and scared that the boy who'd been foisted on him so often for a nappy change, would suffer what he'd suffered at the hands of his father.<p>

Of course he had sniped and grumbled, but even without the debt, he knew he would have agreed, the soft spot he had always had had transferred itself to the boy the first time he'd seen him, Potter had been changing him and received a faceful of urine.

But happy reminiscences aside, his abandoned brewing shed was twinging, the wards had been breached, without malicious intent, but by an animagus, which in itself was cause for concern.

He gathered his supplies. He would boot the trespasser, prepare his hideout, gather the wolf and all possible supplies and start his research. If someone could reverse a transformation, it was him, or Minerva. Probably Minerva first actually, as this was accidental magic, not a potions mishap. But still, he was the most capable, at least in research, and he was the most suited to take care of a dragon. He had spent six months at a dragon reserve. Of course he'd hated it, but one lone juvenile and hopefully sentient drake was well within his capabilities. And if he shed any interesting ingredients, well, that was but an added bonus.  
>All these plans went out of the window at the sight of an unconscious (and smelly) escaped convict.<br>Our dear Sevvie started cursing the air blue, bringing up all the wards available, the old habits of the war coming to him all too easily.  
>He bent down, grabbing a handful of the prone man's hair, whispering to him, "karma is a bitch", unsure whether he was talking to himself, or to the one in his tender mercies.<p> 


End file.
